Fav movie of all time

This movie thrilled me with its weirdly comforting weirdness : ) and made me squawk with laughter. Looking forward to watching again.

One of the funniest and best-made comedies I've watched in a long time is without a doubt this one! The heart of Shark vs. Eagle lies in its deliciously awkward yet brilliantly funny scenarios, complemented by odd but endearing characters. I must tip my hat to the film's writer/director Taika Cohen for achieving such comical and dramatic timing. While many contemporary comedies share the same awkward humour (such as Napoleon Dynamite and The Life Aquatic), Shark vs. Eagle succeeds where some of those movies failed because of the characters' genuine, innocent feelings. The infantile emotions that the movie so masterfully evokes are then aesthetically portrayed by some purposely simple stop-motion animation.

a movie with a different vibe funny and innocent

My favorite Waititi film, made in collaboration with Loren Horsley, about a fast food worker (Horsley) whose crush on a customer (Jemaine Clement) takes her to weird places.

This is Taika Waititi's first feature length film, and although it isn't perfect, there's a lot of Waititi's charm that shows in this movie. I'll start out by stating the obvious, I am a huge Taika Waititi fan. So, I'm going to go through all of his movies, update the ones I've already reviewed, and add the ones I haven't. I have a huge bias with these, as Taika Waititi made Jojo Rabbit, my favorite movie of all time. But, with that out of the way, I'll get on to Eagle Vs. Shark. Eagle Vs. Shark is a love story, but one that takes place in a very real world. Basically, without all the young adult nonsense so many films find necessary nowadays. This is where this film finds its purpose. It's interesting how, boiled down, almost any director's style is evident with their first movie in its finest form, due to the director not being forced to constantly negotiate with the studio. This is especially prominent with Eagle Vs. Shark. Taika Waititi's form of comedy is all based around things that everyone has experienced, making everything in the film real to the audience. Eagle Vs. Shark takes this real world comedy, and heightens it. Lily, the protagonist, is an incredibly socially awkward young woman struggling with finding her place in the world. Meanwhile, Jarrod is comically over-confident, even though, he truly has the exact same problems. These characters work well together, which makes this real world feel lived in. The characters make sense due to the acting which, while I did like, I found a little stiff at times. Thus causing the second act to feel a little slow to me. I really enjoyed the first and last act, but it seemed that nothing of major importance happened in the second act. So, while I enjoy the characters/world and the dialogue, I think that the overall production value and sometimes slow pace dampens my liking of the movie. But, none of that can affect the fact that this is a great film that is a must see for any Waititi fans.

First, stop comparing this film to Napoleon Dynamite. Sure, both films are quirky and feature bespectacled, nerdy leads, but there's so much more going on that you might miss if you limit yourself to that comparison. Eagle Vs. Shark displays the juxtaposition of true pathos and humor that director Taika Waititi executes so well. It is sweet and sad, hilarious and uncomfortable, heartbreaking and beautiful. It's not a film to brush off, but to take in.

An oddball film, mostly in an appealing way. The cast is well-chosen and the overall style - the visuals, tempo, photography, soundtrack - is nice. Nevertheless, it feels kind of derivative; there aren't many surprises and it could be argued that its weirdness exists in a rather predictable, familiar frame of reference.

this is a cinematic masterpiece. i loved every second. beautiful. would recommend to a friend, all friends, the world. thank you.

Brilliant display of ackwardness and dark humor. Jemaine is almost unlikeable in this role but you end up rooting for him simply because Lily does

Eagle vs. Shark appears to be vying for the Napoleon Dynamite audience. However, while there are superficial similarities, this production, from New Zealand writer/director Taika Waititi, is unlikely to achieve the same kind of embrace by geekdom that was lavished upon Jared Hess' feature. There are two primary reasons. In the first place, the semi-comedic tone of Eagle vs. Shark is more uneven than that of Napoleon Dynamite. The film offers some laughs but there are times when the dead zones between them are uncomfortable to endure. The bigger issue relates to the characters. Like the protagonist in Napoleon Dynamite, the main characters in Eagle vs. Shark are quirky and socially inept. Unfortunately, they are also morons, and it becomes increasingly difficult to care one way or another about characters who act like they have undergone frontal lobotomies. (barely average indie).

A favorite of mine. The surrealistic style and absurd humor of the movie are well done, and the soft indie soundtrack matching perfectly. The exaggerated personalities and traits of the characters help to bring forth the most human core of this heart-warming but awkward love-story. What distinguishes it from other "Napoleon Dynamite-ish" comedies might be that this story is told with Lily at its heart, the quiet and lonely girl who loves the loud and pathetic geek not the other way around. Her emotions throughout the film are so well captured and accurate despite the absurd setting, she is what keeps it all together.

The quirkiness of Juno meets the humor of Napoleon Dynamite.

A self-conscious veneer of quirk gilds the lily of this otherwise by-the-book romance. No character development occurs and it's disappointing in this female-led film that the man-child gets rewarded for his shitty behaviour. Little sign of the talent that Watiti and Clement would go on to show, but hey, there's hope for all of us.

A beautiful film about an unconventional love between two very unconventional people.

The only thing amateurish about this movie are the critic reviews.

Eagle vs Shark is the directorial and writing debut of Taika Waititi, and it stars Jemaine Clement and Loren Horsley in a romantic comedy about an awkward and shy girl that has a crush on a guy who’s really odd, sometimes has anger issues, and wants to have a fight with a bully from high school. After watching Thor: Ragnarok, I wanted to watch the rest of Taika Waititi’s films that I haven’t watched that’s on Netflix. So while this is the only one that’s on Netflix, I’ll give Boy a watch when I have the time, so for his first feature film, Eagle vs Shark is not nearly as fantastic as his recent films, but I thought it’s at least a decent flick. The acting is pretty good at acting very weird and kind of quirky. The humor is the type of humor that you see in Napoleon Dynamite, and while it’s refreshing to see a different type of humor, it’s definitely an acquired taste to have for this. If people doesn’t like Napoleon Dynamite, then it’s possible that you’re not going to like this. For me personally, there a lot of chuckles that I got, and only laughed once, but that’s the highest I can get from the humor as there are also some jokes that really missed the mark, or was awkward for the sake of being weird. The chemistry between the two leads is kind of sweet, and some of the animation is pretty well done for an indie film, so while Eagle vs Shark isn’t a great film, but I did enjoy what I got out of this movie, and I’m glad that he does improve over time.

Charming and awkward

Low budget nerd comedy. Enjoyable but not great.

Truly one of my all times faves. I cannot understand how people didn't see the RARE searing honesty in all this. Beautiful, funny, ridiculous.